7 Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak 7

Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak

respectively, (b. Feb. 24, 1955, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.); (b. Aug. 11,

1950, San Jose, Calif., U.S.)

L

ike the founding of the early chip companies and

the invention of the microprocessor, the story of

Apple is a key part of Silicon Valley folklore. Two whiz

kids, Stephen G. Wozniak and Steven P. Jobs, shared an

interest in electronics. Wozniak purchased one of the

early microprocessors, the Mostek 6502, and used it to

design a computer. When Hewlett-Packard, where

“Woz” had an internship, declined to build his design,

Jobs suggested that they could sell it together. The product,

which they called the Apple I, was actually only a printed

circuit board. It lacked a case, a keyboard, and a power

supply. To raise the capital to buy the parts they needed,

Jobs sold his minibus and Wozniak his calculator, and they

set up production in Jobs’s parents’ garage. From these

beginnings sprang one of the leading personal computer

companies in the world. In 1980 Apple Computer, Inc.,

announced its first public stock offering, and its young

founders became instant millionaires.

Steve Jobs

Steven Paul Jobs, cofounder of Apple Computer, Inc. (now

Apple, Inc.), is a charismatic pioneer of the personal

computer era.

Founding of Apple

Jobs was raised by adoptive parents in Cupertino, Calif.,

located in what is now known as Silicon Valley. Though he

was interested in engineering, his passions of youth varied.